Four letters with meaning
by AmbientDinosaur
Summary: This is my first-ever fanfic (of any kind). It focuses on Akko and her traits, since she is a character that really speaks to me. It also has a healthy amount of Akko and Diana fluff, but I have tried to keep it on a similar level as the show :) kinda '


Akko Kagari was absent-mindedly drumming with her fingers on her Magical Philosophy textbook. Professor Pisces was about to wrap up the round-up lecture, just a minute or so before the clock struck one in the afternoon.

Exam week was just around the corner at Luna Nova, and this was Akko's final class for the week. During the week before the exams, the students were expected to be studying and summarizing the courses on their own. The regular courses had already finished their classes last week, only the electives had remained yet to do so.

Professor Pisces dismissed her class, and Akko immediately scrambled together her textbook and her other belongings. Magical Philosophy had actually turned out to be one of Akko's better subjects at Luna Nova. Ever since that whole debacle when Akko had accidentally flushed down her goldfish professor into the drain and had to go find her again in the ocean, and somehow ending up being graded A- for her actions while doing so, Akko had been consistently getting good grades in the subject. Her papers and homework had been getting grades ranging between C+ and A-.

It had actually been an increasingly more common sight to see Akko discussing with the professor before and after the lectures, with her now being nigh-fluent in fish language. Akko didn't always understand the philosophical concepts that Pisces brought up in those discussions, but she found it exciting to talk with her professor nonetheless. Professor Pisces had also taken a liking to Akko for her 'not-by-the-book' approach of the subject, which was rare in her class. All while Akko's classmates, some of whom had been trying to learn fish language before even enrolling at Luna Nova, were still dumbfounded that Akko had managed to learn fish language in a matter of _months_.

Akko actually felt pretty relaxed about the Magical Philosophy exam, and Pisces had even reassured her that as long she could make arguments and counterarguments on the topics featured in the exam, she would do fine. However, she felt considerably more stressed out by the first scheduled exam in Transmutation Magic. Akko was still struggling to transmute matter beyond just the basics and failed to arrange more advanced transmutation circles properly. And there was plenty of the learning material she had yet to read.

Since Akko had been visibly anxious about the upcoming exams when she had been spending time together with Diana, Diana had then suggested that they should study together, and that she would help Akko whenever she would need it. Akko had immediately accepted and thanked Diana for her offer, without a doubt feeling instantly relieved that Diana could tutor her. They had promised each other that Akko would meet up with Diana in her dorm room as soon Akko had finished her class today.

So today Akko wouldn't have any time to chat with Professor Pisces after the class. Akko had hastily left the classroom to go and fetch her Transmutation textbooks. She got halfway down the corridor outside the classroom, before doing a complete u-turn and going towards the other end of corridor. When she and Diana had planned to meet-up, Akko had forgotten to take _lunch_ into consideration.

* * *

Akko quickly scanned through Luna Nova's dining hall for Sucy and Lotte after retrieving today's lunch from the canteen. Sucy and Lotte should have had finished their respective elective classes as well already, so Akko was sure they would be in the hall already.

After a few quick glances around the dining area, Akko managed to locate her friends close to the center of the open hall. She went towards their table as if she was a homing missile that had locked onto its target. When she reached the table, Akko did more or less, and very unceremoniously, crash down on the empty spot next to her friends.

"Oii! Sucy! Lotte!" Akko greeted her two friends.

Lotte let out a short, startled shriek after Akko's sudden maneuver. Despite that Lotte had known Akko for almost a year now, she still seemed not used to Akko's abrupt, impulsive actions. Sucy, on the other hand, had just let out a tiny sigh and may have had muttered something under her breath.

"He.. Hi Akko." Lotte replied, while still recovering from the slight shock.

Akko had already begun chomping down her lunch. She had only picked things that she could eat quickly, such as a couple of potatoes, a handful of meatballs with some sauce and two bread buns on the side.

"What's the hurry? The classes should be over now until the exams." Lotte had continued, noticing that Akko was eating even more quickly than she usually did.

"Maybe she's being an idiot who has lost her track of time again?" Sucy butted in, with her standard dry tone. "It is possible that she thought the first exam would be later today."

"No, Diana and I were gonna study together in her dorm at 1 o'clock" Akko answered, though it was barely audible because of all the food she had in her mouth. However, it seemed that Sucy and Lotte had been able to understand her just fine despite that.

"In her dorm? I bet she is scheming something. I guess she needs a lab rat for the advanced magic courses she is taking." Sucy speculated skeptically out loud.

"Ehh?! Sucy! You can't really say anything about using Ak-" Lotte tried to object, but was interrupted by Akko.

"Diana wouldn't do something like that." Akko answered uncharacteristically nonchalantly, as if a bit of Diana had rubbed off on her.

However, she quickly changed back to her usual, energetic self when she had finished eating, or at least had eaten most of her lunch. She rose like a rocket from her chair, chugged the rest of the water in her glass and collected her Magical Philosophy textbook, her pen case and other small knick-knacks she had brought with her.

"I better get going now! See you later!" Akko said with one of her usual grins, before she darted away with the last bread bun in her mouth.

Sucy and Lotte had no time to reply before she had already left the dining hall, and they soon realized that they would have to take care of Akko's tray with her dishes that she left behind. Sucy once again muttered something to herself.

* * *

Akko had to restrain herself from not actually running in the corridors. She didn't want to accidentally run into Professor Finnelan, in a quite literal sense. It had happened on more than one occasion and since then Finnelan would always scold Akko if she saw her move faster than anyone else in the corridor.

Akko had resorted to an awkward stride somewhere in between brisk walking and slight jogging while on her way to the dormitory section of Luna Nova. She had gotten a quick glimpse of her mirror image in one of the windows she had passed by. The tie of her school uniform had gotten messed up from all of her scurrying around. She didn't feel to fix it right now. She had to get her Transmutation books first, and then she could fix it just before going to Diana's dorm room. If Diana saw her like this, then trying to fix her tie would surely be the first thing Diana would do, Akko thought to herself. Diana had recently begun to help Akko to tidy herself up just like that, but Akko had not gotten used to it yet. She felt slightly embarrassed from just imagining it.

* * *

After she had been not-quite-running to the dormitories, she finally reached the Red team's dorm room, the room she shared with Lotte and Sucy.

The air in the room felt oddly still, almost stale even, when Akko entered the room. She was not used to being alone in the room nor being here during the day. Normally during this time of the day they either had lunch or one of their classes. It was usually full of life and activity during the morning and the evening, but now it was so empty and quiet. Akko felt slightly unnerved by this silence.

She went to her drawer where she kept her textbooks and her other school material. It was a rather disorganized stack of her textbooks, notebooks and various loose papers, and Akko had to search through the stack a couple of times to find all the relevant material for the current Transmutation course. Just as she had finally collected everything she needed and was about to close the drawer box with her school books, she noticed once again the pamphlet that had been lying on top of her drawer for a while.

Chariot had given the pamphlet to her several weeks ago, when Akko still had known her only as Professor Ursula. She had said then that she didn't know for sure, but she thought that it could be of help to Akko.

Akko put down her textbooks and other material to the side of the drawer, and picked up the pamphlet. She saw that it had started to collect a bit of dust since she the last time she had given it a glance. When she had received it, she had immediately been able to tell that the pamphlet was aimed at someone younger than her. The front of the pamphlet was covered with what either looked like bubbles or balloons in various colours, such as red, green and cyan. The font used for the text on the cover also felt similarly childlike, with big, soft and rounded letters.

However, what was written on it did not feel childish at all. Akko may have not been the most fluent in English, but the words written on the front felt truly _foreign_ to her.  
It was four letters that didn't really mean anything to her.  
Each standing for four words she didn't fully grasp.

The pamphlet felt _off_ to her. She knew that this was something you wouldn't find within Luna Nova's premises. Apparently, Ursula had went and acquired it at the same time she had been off on errands in Brightonbury, outside of Luna Nova. To Akko, this pamphlet was something that felt distinctly 'non-magical'. _Something that didn't belong at Luna Nova._

She had never read all of the pamphlet, but with every glance she had given it, she had found things that had _resonated_ with her, despite how she felt about it. It contained descriptions of scenarios or behaviours that felt familiar. Feelings that she had felt or things that she had done too. The subject of this pamphlet was something she had never heard mentioned back at home in Japan. Or if it had been, she hadn't paid attention to it.

Akko had even asked Sucy and Lotte about some of traits given as examples in the pamphlet, such as if they also struggled to pay attention during the whole class or if they also found it hard to just sit down and not do anything. Neither of them could really relate to any of the questions Akko inquired. If it was something that felt similar for either of Lotte or Sucy, it was just scenarios or such that had happened maybe once. Not at all like how Akko felt, who had such occurrences happening all the time. Every class felt like it 'got blurry' after a while, not just once because Akko hadn't slept well.

"It's only airheads like yourself Akko that work like that." Sucy usually replied, or with some variant of it, whenever Akko had asked about anything described in the pamphlet.

Akko put down the pamphlet again. She wanted to ignore it, but everything in it that she had read rang true to her. She wanted to believe that her impatience, her tendency to say things without thinking, her inability to not do anything, her struggle to pay attention for longer periods of time, and so on, were all things that _everyone_ had been struggling with at some point. Not because of something called 'disorder'. Not because of who she _was_.

She suddenly snapped back and remembered that Diana was waiting for her. She must have been standing and fretted about this pamphlet again for several minutes already, she thought to herself.

She picked up her stack of Transmutation learning material, closed the drawer box with her foot and rushed out of her team's dorm room.

* * *

While on her way to the Blue team's dorm room, Akko hadn't bothered with the uncomfortable, odd stride she had done before. Instead, she had been rushing as quickly as she possibly could with the books in her arms, and had managed to startle one of the worker fairies that had been busy cleaning in one of the hallways.

Akko had to take a couple breaths before she could enter Diana's room. After she had recovered, she knocked on the door a few times in a quick succession before she went inside.

The dorm room was filled with a warm glow from the early afternoon sunlight outside. Akko could sense a scent that was a mix of recently made tea and the scent of the trees outside the dormitory building, brought inside by a breeze through one of the windows that Diana had opened slightly. Akko had visited this dorm room several times by now, both when invited and uninvited, but she had never gotten used to actually _being_ here. It felt so different from all the other dorm rooms, its sheer size, what was available and how it was decorated. However, nowadays Akko believed that Diana did deserve to live in this dorm room.

Diana was sitting over by the small dining table. She had had a cup of tea while waiting for Akko, but she had brought out the full tea set on the table, so she probably had expected to offer Akko a cup as well.

"Akko!" Diana exclaimed in a relieved tone. She rose from her chair at the dining table and went over to Akko to greet her properly.

"Diana!" Akko greeted her back, along with a smile. Though Akko couldn't tell what kind of smile she had done.

"I was wondering…" Diana continued, but interrupted herself. "Wait. Stay still, Akko".

Diana undid the knot on Akko's tie, gently pulled it off and started to tie it from scratch.

Akko didn't say anything. She just looked away to the side. She began fidgeting with the hem of the vest of her school uniform while Diana was redoing the tie. She had forgotten about it. She had planned to do just a "quick fix" back when she was in her dorm room, not even retying it completely like Diana was doing now, but she had been distracted by the pamphlet on the drawer. Akko couldn't help but wonder if Diana could tell her embarrassment from her face.

"I was wondering where you had gone to, Akko" Diana started over the sentence she had interrupted herself earlier, right after she had finished tying the tie. "Did something come up?"

"I had to have lunch…" Akko replied embarrassed, for forgetting something so obvious. She also still had not recovered from Diana taking care of her.

"Oh. That is right." Diana realized. "The canteen had not been open yet before your class started. You would not have had any time to eat your lunch before meeting up with me."

Akko felt rather relieved that Diana also seemed to have not considered that she would have to eat lunch before studying together.

"Huh.. But Diana, have you had lunch then?" Akko followed the conclusion of her own thought. "You can't have had just tea, right?"

Akko gestured towards where Diana had been sitting at the dining table.

"Oh, no. On this day of the week I usually eat here on my own. I had kindly requested the kitchen personnel if they could set up to cater my lunch to this dorm room as a favour, so I could continue studying during these hours of my elective course, and they had heartily obliged." Diana explained.

"H..aah? Is that why I've never seen you eat after Professor Pisces' class then?" Akko wondered out loud.

Diana's elective course was called _Ancient Magic Conversion_ , or something similar like that from what Akko could faintly recall. This course wasn't a part of the ordinary elective curriculum, and not all witches could even apply for it. Since Croix Meridies had graduated from Luna Nova, only a handful of witches had been accepted after her. Diana Cavendish was one of them.

It wasn't even structured like an ordinary course. A professor had given Diana a short summarizing lecture, then after that it was all self-study and Diana's own research. As such, there were not really any proper text-books on the subject, just copies of old scriptures and papers written by past professors and alumnae.

Diana had tried to clarify the subject to Akko, but Akko had felt like she had not comprehended it fully. But she could remember that Diana had said that the unsealing of the Grand Triskelion and the new understanding of how the World Construction Magic worked, had lead Diana to discover a breakthrough on the subject. It was also all thanks to Akko, Diana had said, but Akko felt like she couldn't agree with Diana's statement. Akko believed that Diana had been just as important as herself. Possibly more than herself even.

"Are you sure you do not want a cup of tea before we start studying?" Diana inquired kindly to Akko. "There is still some left in the pot, and I have kept it heated in case if you would have wanted a cup."

"No, I've been so late already! I've gotta start now, Diana!" Akko waved around her arms demonstratively, as to gesture that she needed to begin as soon as possible.

"Are you really sure? You seem to be a bit stressed out, Akko.. It would not hurt for you to make yourself more at home before we begin." Diana replied with concern.

"It'll be fine. I'll surely calm down when I'll start studying." Akko tried to reassure Diana.

Diana just let out a very slight exasperated sigh and led Akko towards the dining table.

Diana put away the dishes and the rest of the tea set that had not been used from the table. Meanwhile, Akko started to spread out her textbooks, the Transmutation circle reference sheets and her various notes rather messily on her side of the table. The end result covered more than half of the small dining table. When Diana returned, and was about to go and retrieve her own research material, she gave a brief disconcerted glance at the disarrayed state of the dining table, but continued on without commenting on it. She instead just sighed heartfully. At the same time, Akko had been too busy still setting up to have noticed.

Of the two textbooks on Transmutation magic, Akko had only read all of the 100 designated pages from the secondary textbook, and it had taken her the most of the weeks of the course to finish it. The main textbook had around 200 pages marked, and Akko had only read about 25 of them.

Akko started reading. She was quite worried, since she knew she wasn't a fast reader. It usually went well when she started reading, but after some time her pace would slow down, eventually coming to a grinding halt. Akko felt like there was always something distracting her while reading, which lead her to be forced to re-read sentences or paragraphs. Sometimes even whole pages. So reading the almost 200 pages until tomorrow evening felt like a daunting task for Akko.

The first 50 minutes had gone rather well for Akko, reading almost a full chapter, or about 22 pages, in the textbook. However, her reading pace had already begun to drop halfway through. She had started act a bit uneasy in her chair, shuffling around often or playing with something with her hands. Diana had noticed that Akko spaced out every now and then, with her head lifted from the textbook. Akko was very obviously distracted by various things, it seemed. Either thoughts or other stimuli coming from around the dorm room.

"... What were we talking about during lunch again? – 'Akko, I brought you something that I would like you to read' – I hope Amanda can show me that broom trick she talked about last week! – Oh, Diana has to see this spell I practiced! – Are there still some who call Chariot 'Ursula' at Luna Nova? – 'Are you sure you do not want a cup of tea before we start studying?' – I'd like some treat right now.. – She is somehow both Chariot and Ursula to me – 'It's only airheads like yourself Akko that work like that' – Jasminka would probably have some yummy crisps right now.. – ..Wait, what did it say about sodium last page? …"

Akko suddenly got aware of all the thoughts spinning in her head. There were definitely more thoughts whirling around at the moment than she wanted. Thoughts that mostly didn't help her with studying any way whatsoever. They all flew around while a whirring noise filled her head like a gray fog. However, she was all too familiar with this sensation. This kind of torrent of thoughts seemed to inevitably happen for Akko in various scenarios, like when she was studying, in the classroom or any place where there were too many different things to keep track of, as a matter of fact.

"Akko..?" Diana said wondering to Akko, since she had noticed that Akko had stopped reading completely and seemingly stared into the thin air. "Are you fine?"

"..Hwah?" Akko answered confused, having to snap out of her thoughts. "What did you say?"

"I was wondering how you are at the moment, Akko. You seem rather unfocused." Diana replied concerned.

"Oh. Don't worry about me! I'll be fine!" Akko returned, trying to reassure Diana.

"I was thinking of taking a short break. You should join me, I think it would be good for you." Diana had not been convinced by Akko's reassurement.

"No! I can't stop now. I have to keep going Diana!" Akko protested. "I've got too many pages to read before I can take any breaks"  
Akko almost sounded more like she was speaking to herself rather than to Diana now. Diana let out another exasperated sigh just like earlier, astounded by the japanese girl's amazing stubbornness. Diana then got away from the table and her research notes to take a break on her own.

Akko kept trudging on with her textbook. Minutes seemed to pass with every sentence. During the time Diana had taken a pause from studying, Akko had at most read an eighth of a page. Of course, she had been mostly glancing at what Diana had been doing, and the bleak, aqueous buzz in her mind didn't help things further. Akko was very restless at this point, either drumming with her fingers, fidgeting with her ponytail, tugging on her sleeves or playing around with her pen. Diana had to eventually tell Akko to calm down, since Diana had started to feel disrupted by Akko's now rather intense twiddling.

"For sulfur-based transmutation circles, the wand should be flicked in a C-shaped manner while…"  
"For sulfur-based transmutation circles, the wand should be flicked in a C-shaped manner while…"  
"For sulfur-based transmutation circles, the wand should be flicked in a C-shaped manner while…"  
"For sulfur-based transmutation circles, the wand should be flicked in a C-shaped manner while…"

Akko stopped reading. She realized that she had read the same sentence over and over multiple times. Or actually not reading it at all, as a matter fact. She had followed the letters with her eyes but the words had stopped to actually mean anything. It was a sensation similar to trying to read a block of text in a language you didn't know. However, Akko knew she could read the text, it somehow just didn't take.

Akko's head was hurting. It now felt completely filled with a light-gray, buzzing liquid. It was a constant flickering between images, sounds, voices, memories and feelings of anxiety. There was too much going on. It was overwhelming her. She hated this feeling. She couldn't continue like this. _It had to stop!_

* * *

"Guraaaah!"

Akko threw up the textbook in the air. It made several spins and turns in the air before it landed with the front cover down on the floor, next to her chair. She shoved back her chair a bit and leaned onto the table. Akko burrowed her face into her arms she now was resting on. She had started sobbing.

"Akko!" Diana shouted worriedly, concerned about Akko's sudden outburst. She shot up from her chair and rushed over to Akko's side of the table.

"Why must it be so hard?" Akko yelled out, anxious and frustrated. "Classes are hard, listening is hard, waiting is hard! I can't even read a book without it being **_hard_**!"

Diana crouched down next to Akko and she laid her hand gently on Akko's left shoulder. Akko lowered her voice a bit.

"I know I'm not good at magic. But reading has nothing to do with magic. Patience has nothing to do with magic. And being still isn't either. But I struggle with all that too! I can't explain away those! I don't have an excuse for those. Those things are all just **_me_**. ...Aren't they?"

Akko's tone had become dejected instead.

"Is.. Is this about the pamphlet I have seen lying around in your room?" Diana carefully asked.

Akko turned her face towards Diana. Tears were still running down her face and her eyes had started to become sore and swollen.

"Y..you've seen it?" Akko replied sniveling, being slightly surprised however.

"I read it once when I was in your dorm room while waiting for you" Diana continued in a gentle tone. "I suppose this is what I have felt might be troubling you then, other than exams?"

"Yeah, sometimes probably..." Akko answered quietly.

"It is true when we first met I could instantly tell that you were someone 'prone to temporary diversions', as I put it back then." Diana cringed a bit when she reminisced the harshness of her past self. "However, I did not realize at the time that there was more to it. Until I noticed some of these traits, _symptoms_ , first-hand every now and then when I observed you during classes and around the school campus. And I was able to tell how it impaired on your studies and the rest of your school activities. So when I read that pamphlet, it felt like I finally saw what your situation was like, Akko. What your struggles were."

Akko turned her head back and once again burrowed her face into her arms.

"So you **do** think I have some strange 'disorder' then?" Akko yelled out upset.

Diana, being startled by Akko's sudden yell, quickly pulled away the hand she had laid before on Akko's shoulder. Diana straightened herself and now instead stood up next to Akko. Both of the girls remained quiet for several moments.

"...Maybe." Diana replied and finally broke the silence. "But I do not think of it as a 'strange disorder' as you do. I think it merely means that your shortcomings are more apparent than for some other people and that they collectively have a common denominator. An easily identifiable name."

Akko didn't respond. She was completely silent at this point.

"However, more importantly, you have similar characteristics to these shortcomings that I believe are your **strengths** , Akko. I admire your ability and desire to take action, sometimes when no one else will. Your spontaneity and liveliness are also traits that I have come to admire. Those are the things that keep astonishing me in unexpected ways, Akko. But what I have always admired about you, is your unyielding determination. The ability to never lose sight of your dreams that you strive towards. No matter what setback you face, you will overcome them. You can accomplish anything, with a believing heart!"

Akko sprung up from resting her head on her arms. She was sitting up again.

"To me, these strengths are far outweighing any impairment you have, or this disorder you might have. These strengths are what let you be an amazing witch, regardless of your setbacks, Akko!"

Akko's eyes got tear filled again. Diana's words reached her.

"Diana!" Akko exclaimed while she was moved by what Diana had said. "How can you still-".

Akko didn't finish her sentence. While Akko had begun to say it, Diana had gently stroked and put her hand on Akko's head, almost caressing Akko's signature ponytail.

"Remember, Akko, I believe in your believing heart."

"Diana!"

Akko flew up from her chair and threw her arms around Diana. It was as if Diana had cast a spell on Akko to brighten her mood. In a sense it was, since those words had a lot of meaning for both of them. Akko rested her head on Diana's shoulder while embracing her. Akko had started crying again, but now she was more relieved instead. The sudden move had made Diana stagger backwards a few steps. She didn't mind, however. She might not have expected it, but she had gotten used to it. Diana just smiled softly and embraced Akko with her left arm while carefully patting Akko's head with her right hand. The two girls held each other close for what must have been several minutes, with Diana just letting Akko cry out to her heart's content.

* * *

Akko released Diana from the hug and felt the need to sit down again. Akko had stopped crying and took some deep breaths to try to regain her composure. She was still snuffling from all the tears before. Diana picked up the textbook that had remained on the floor since Akko had flung it towards the ceiling, and after that Diana went to fetch some paper napkins for Akko. She had wanted to do it earlier but felt that it hadn't been the right time before now.

"Are you feeling better now?" Diana asked Akko after retrieving a box of tissues.  
Akko had made a cluttered pile of her used tissues on the table.

"Mmbyeah." Akko answered while blowing her nose one last time.

"I am glad to hear that, Akko." Diana said relieved. "Are you ready to continue studying? There is something I would like to test."

"To test…?" Akko started to wonder if there actually was some truth to what Sucy had said in the dining hall.

"Come with me, I will describe it later." Diana responded to Akko's lingering uncertainty. "Take those napkins with you too, I will show where you can dispose of them."

Akko got rid of the used tissues, after being shown what possibly could have been the most fancy and neat paper bin Akko had ever seen, in Diana's small study on the opposite side of the dorm room. Meanwhile, Diana was searching through one of the drawers in the study. What could it possibly be, Akko wondered to herself. She knew at least that another book to read wouldn't help her. After a quick search, it seemed that Diana had found what she had been looking for. Diana then signalled to Akko that she could take the lead to return to the dining table. Akko had tried to glance what the item Diana was holding in her hands was. From what she quickly could tell, it seemed to be some old, small magical artifact.

After they had returned to the table and sat down again, Diana had put down the artifact and Akko could more clearly see what it was. It was some sort of hourglass.

It was comprised of an ornately decorated stand made presumably of some kind of metal, that had been gold-plated. In the middle of the stand was the hourglass itself, filled with fine, golden sand. The hourglass component could seemingly rotate freely within the stand. And lastly, there was a row of tiny bells mounted on top of the stand.

"What is thing for, Diana?" Akko asked confused, but also curious.

"It is an antique magical hourglass which you can freely change the flow of the sand with a spell." Diana explained. "That way you can set it to any time interval you desire."

"...So like an ordinary kitchen timer?" Akko said with a flat tone, somewhat questioning the need for magic for something so mundane.

"Hmmph. I can assure you that it is more versatile than so." Diana answered nonchalantly, however with a slight hint that she had been a bit offended by Akko's blunt remark. "Are you ready to start study again, Akko?"

"Yeah, I guess.." Akko replied with a bit of uncertainty, afraid that it would just end up in the same manner as before.

"Good! Do not worry, Akko. I believe it will work out better this time." Diana reassured her.

"Hu..how?" Akko questioned surprised.

Diana brought out her wand from her sash. She flicked it and the wand let out a wisp of green light that struck the hourglass. The hourglass turned over and the sand started to flow down. However, it seemed to flow unnaturally slowly. Either the gravity of the sand or the flow of time itself had been affected inside.

"This is what I wanted to test. I have set the time interval to half an hour, split into two periods. After twentyfive minutes the sand will run out, and the bells will chime. Then we both stop studying and take a break, until the bells chimes again after five minutes." Diana tried to carefully explain to Akko. "It will be more clear as we try it, I would believe."

Akko started reading the textbook again, picking up where she left off. At least she somehow could remember that line she had read over and over earlier. Akko was still uncertain how taking a small break would be that much of a help to her. She felt she needed all time she had to remotely be able to read all the pages she had left before the exam.

Akko's head had at least been cleared up from most of the 'gray, noisy substance' she had felt overwhelming her before. It was back on the same levels as when they started studying earlier today, so reading was actually somewhat possible to do again. She was reading at her regular pace as when she first starts reading, during this first period that Diana had set up. So far, everything was as usual.

The bells rang for the first time. Akko jumped a little bit when she heard the bells, because she was not used to the sudden sound. Diana had carefully put away her pen to the side of her notebook and got up from her chair.

"Akko, it is time for the break now." Diana reminded Akko. "You can put your pen under the last line you was reading so you will remember where you left off."

"Hwaah? Oh, right. Break!" Akko had still been a bit distracted by the sudden chime coming from the hourglass.

Akko got up from her chair and followed Diana. Akko had actually put her pen in a horizontal line across her textbook, just like Diana had said, despite Akko had seemed too distracted.

* * *

Akko was leaning onto the windowsill of the opened window in the dorm room. Diana stood next to her, leaning back against the wall and with her arms crossed. Akko was watching the leaves of the trees outside, only moving slightly in the breeze. The break was nice for sure, but she still couldn't help to worry a bit about not studying right now.

"Diana.. How will this break help me?" Akko wondered out loud, still uncertain of herself. "It is nice to take a break from all the reading, but it still feels like I should keep on going."

"Akko. Why does it feel nice to take a break from the reading?" Diana inquired rather straight-forwardly.

"Hu..eh? Em, because reading feels hard, I guess?" Akko answered, unsure at what Diana was trying to get at.

"Then, _why_ does it feel hard?" Diana asked further.

"I.. I don't know really.. It just is, somehow. After a while it just gets all buzzy and jumpy with the letters." Akko tried to gesture with her hands how she felt. "And I just keep thinking about other stuff. Stuff that don't help me at all really when I'm reading."

"That is exactly why I think you need breaks, Akko." Diana continued. "Well, I do not know for certain, but it seems that you get easily overwhelmed by tasks that require constant concentration, such as reading or taking notes during classes. Is that not right, Akko?"

"..Yeah, probably..." Akko felt a bit insecure once more. It felt hard for her to admit.

"I believe breaks would help to make you become less overloaded with inputs from reading. To give your mind a breather, so to speak." Diana smiled gently at Akko, trying to reassure her once again.

"I guess…" Akko said, a bit absentmindedly. She stared out of the window and seemed to space out, perhaps reflecting on what Diana had just said.

The two girls remained quiet until the bells of the hourglass rang again, and returned to the table.

Akko continued where she had left off reading. The pen undoubtedly had helped her getting back right where she had stopped earlier. Something felt slightly different to Akko, but she couldn't tell what. Maybe a bit less uneasy than usual, somehow?

Diana and Akko continued with these alternating intervals through the rest of the afternoon. They seemed to do slightly different activities during each break. The second break they took a stroll inside dorm room, with Akko stretching and flailing her arms for a while before they continued. The break after that they had a cup of tea that Diana had prepared the break before and they enjoyed a leisure chat. And during the latest break Akko had even shown the spell she had practiced on to show to Diana. Diana had stressed that as long Akko did something less taxing to her mind than reading, it would be fine during the breaks.

Akko eventually realized something as they continued their study session. Her head still felt more or less clear, even after reading for almost over two hours. Somehow, she had managed to avoid getting overwhelmed from the reading. The gray, droning 'ooze' she usually felt fill her mind had been kept at bay. Additionally, she was feeling less restless than usual. Moving around during the breaks seemed to help with that.

Of course, Akko knew it wasn't some miracle method that Diana had introduced to her. She still had to re-read a paragraph in the textbook once or twice, she still had felt the need to swing a foot or drumming with her fingers while sitting down and she still had gotten distracted every now and then. But as a whole, the alternating breaks and studying had helped her to read at a more consistent pace, at least compared to her unsuccessful binge reading earlier. She had more or less read twice as many pages now than before the breakdown Akko had earlier.

Akko felt more at ease to actually be able read the rest of textbook before the exam. As a matter of fact, she felt a bit less anxious about studying as a whole, thanks to all this help Diana was bringing to her.

The late afternoon sunlight filled the dorm room with a cozy, orange glow. Diana and Akko had decided to call it a day, since it would soon be dinner at Luna Nova. Hannah and Barbara would also soon come back from their studying in the library and Diana had a hunch that Akko would not be able to study any further with them around anyway.

The two girls collected their respective study materials and tidied up the dinner table. Diana had then gone to her study to put away the hourglass.

"Diana, can I come over here and use that hourglass another time?" Akko asked.

"Of course you can, Akko!" Diana answered warmly. "Any time I am able to. I suppose you want to use it again tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" Akko exclaimed, making her appreciation apparent.

Akko made herself ready to leave and was about to approach the door.

"Let's meet up in the dining hall during dinner then!" Akko exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes, we will see each other then." Diana replied gently and joyfully.

"Okay then, see you later Diana!" Akko had put on another of her usual grins and then went towards the door.

However, before she was about to open the door, Akko stopped and turned around. It was as if she had forgotten something. Akko stood there quiet for a short bit, seemingly trying to collect her thoughts.

"Diana.." Akko said unusually softly for her. "Thank you."

"Akko?" Diana was somewhat surprised of Akko's sudden shift in tone. Akko speaking gently and carefully was always an uncommon occurrence. And so was the sweet, faint smile she was giving Diana, instead of her more common grins.

"I love.. I love all the help that you are giving me." Akko stammered a bit. "I would probably not even be here if it wasn't for you, Diana. And I feel I still haven't thanked you enough for that."

"Akko…" Diana was unmistakably moved by what Akko had said.

Diana went over to Akko and gave her a hug.

"And I love being of help to you, Akko. Never hesitate to ask me for help, whatever it might be. I will always try to be there for you, doing whatever I can to support you. You truly deserve it, your magic is stronger than anyone else's."

Akko returned the embrace that Diana had given her.

"No, our magic." Akko added heartfully, just a short moment later.

The two girls once again continued to embrace each other for several moments. They didn't say anything further. Neither of them felt like it, both of them just smiled contently and blushing a bit while hugging each other. Neither of them wanted to let go of the other any time too soon.

* * *

Akko closed the door to Diana's room after her, after the girls finally had released each other and said goodbye a second time. Akko was looking forward to meet up with Lotte and Sucy, and ask them how their day had been since the met at lunch. Sucy would probably find the moment when Akko threw her textbook towards the ceiling rather humorous, Akko thought to herself and made a slight pout. However, Akko didn't feel any hurry to get back to her team's room and decided to take a calm stroll back for a change.

Akko felt more relieved after today somehow than she had been in long while. Akko thought of what Diana had said earlier, how she didn't see the content of that pamphlet as a 'strange disorder'. It was called a 'disorder', but what it meant was more simple. A collection of shortcomings. But since they were known, Akko could find ways to deal with them. She also had realized that while not everyone had to have to deal with these problems, there were at least some others that had. She wasn't alone with these struggles. Maybe there even were some others here at Luna Nova too? Akko had put off talking to Chariot about this, but now she felt the time was right.

A. D. H. D.

Akko thought about those four letters from the pamphlet again. They hadn't meant anything together to her before, but now she felt like she could find a meaning for them. Just like how she recently had found a deeper meaning in another set of four letters. The four letters that meant the most.


End file.
